Mixing cherry & CRS

cobalt · Post by **cobalt** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:30 am

I have 12 gallon tank with cherry shrimp , this week I'm getting CRS
Now i know they wont breed together , but I'm afraid the cherry will over breed the CRS
Should i empty the tank ( a lot of cherry shrimplet !!) and make it only for CRS or can i combine the two !!

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:54 am

As long as you keep the hardness low and keep the pH close to neutral, you should be OK. Lots of folks have posted they keep them together.

I personally do not keep CRS as I have trouble providing soft acidic water for them. I may take another run at them, but not just now.

cobalt · Post by **cobalt** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:22 am

Thank you for your reply
My fear is won't the cherry over breed the CRS ,And won't it stop the CRS from breeding ?

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:41 am

cobalt wrote:Thank you for your reply
My fear is won't the cherry over breed the CRS ,And won't it stop the CRS from breeding ?

That is a real possibility. The RCS may outcompete the CRS over time with their sheer numbers. The RCS have a much shorter reproduction cycle than the CRS. In other words, they reproduce much more quickly.

cobalt · Post by **cobalt** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:08 am

So, should I empty the tank ?
I know I'll lose a lot of baby shrimp on the way

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 12:01 pm

Just relax....the RCS are not going to *immediately* outbreed them and your CRS aren't going to immediately breed anyway. There is no hurry. Just keep them together until you have a cycled, *mature* tank to move the red cherry shrimp to. You don't want your red cherry shrimp to die, right? Don't move them all at once, either, if you have large numbers, as to not stress the biological system in the new tank.